Eric Partridge: lexicographer of the English language

[Nigeyb]

Here's something that GoodReads member Robert thought might be of interest to some of us here at The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society.

Robert doesn't participate in forums, however he invited me to highlight this information to the group....



"Eric Partridge is my favourite lexicographer, he's responsible for the modern understanding of Shakespeare (- via Shakespeare's Bawdy).

I suggest that the London fanciers in The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society. get into Mr Partridge, especially A Dictionary Of Slang And Unconventional English: Colloquialisms And Catch Phrases, Solecisms And Catachreses, Nicknames, And Vulgarisms. Ball-bouncingly funny, mystifying, and extraordinary on at least every page. No exaggeration."

Here's the information on the GoodReads page...

Now for the first time, the eighth, and current, edition of Partridge's renowned dictionary will be available in paperback. Originally published in 1984, this dictionary was published posthumously but had been worked upon by Partridge until six weeks before his death. Its place in the history of the lexicography of slang is assured as the last edition to feature original work by Partridge himself. This paperback edition features a new foreword by David Crystal, Honorary Professor at the University of Wales, writer, editor, and broadcaster.

Robert adds, "All I'll say about Eric Partridge (for now) is that he's a damn genius, a lunatic (I mean, anyone who writes an English textbook and calls it English: A Course for Human Beings) and utterly indispensable for anyone hoping to make sense of England from 1900-1972.

I'd also recommend Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War 1890-1914, which I'm reading with a due sense of awe and delight, for the same and different reasons."

Eric Partridge Wikipedia page


Thanks Robert.

[Nigeyb]

And now a word from our sponsor...

Thanks - but tell folk to get the old Slang hardbacks up to about 1979 ... the new revised paperback of Slang ain't worth it. Dreadfully pc-bowdlerised, it misses the entire point. The thing with pc is - we ain't communists (pc was a term invented by a soviet congress in the 20s because they realised that revolution, with murder, mayhem and misery in attendance, wasn't too popular, so they managed to get this term used in the west, with ghastly results) and if you focus on the pc you end up ignoring a vast swathe of reality, rather like Thomas Bowdler... I mean, can you imagine the OED including even half of Viz's Profanisaurus Rex? Sure, much is made up, but ... that's how slang comes about...

[Peter]

I thought I would add to this thread, since I read The Gilt Kid with a copy of Partridge's Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English open by my side. Getting easily sidetracked, as usual, I noticed another book that seemed to gain at least as many citations as The Gilt Kid - ending up with a surprising recommendation by Partridge to read it for its own sake.

The book is Cheapjack, first published in 1934 but reissued not too long ago in paperback, complete with introduction, afterword, and period photographs. It's the story of Philip Allingham's life as a grafter in the fairgrounds and markets of England and Wales, where he worked as a fortune-teller - having given up office life in London. Wonderful book - full of anecdote, odd characters, and life on the road. Though he's based in London, and visits a number of pubs, Allingham spends most of his time elsewhere - yet thanks to the rhyming slang and coterie of fellow travellers Cheapjack often reads like prewar London-on-the-move. Probably the most enjoyable book I've read this year - review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Nigeyb]

^ Thanks Peter.


Your review has convinced me that I need to read....



Cheapjack by Philip Allingham

I've just ordered a copy.

You can read the start of the book here...
http://golden-duck.co.uk/philip-allin...

And buy it direct here...
http://goldenduck.squarespace.com/che...

Thanks again Peter - it sounds like a wonderful read